"Are these all the new recruits so far?" Zechs asked disapprovingly.
"Yeah," Sasha sighed. "With all the peace talk being pounded into people’s heads these days, no one wants to sign up."
Zechs nodded slowly and looked over at the pathetically small group.
"How many are there?"
"23," The short, pudgy Russian man nodded at the group. "But they’re good kids. Passed their introductory training down on Earth with flying colors. That’s why they sent them up here to us."
"And how many total do we have?"
"Somewhere around four hundred, I guess."
"Four hundred people for a war," Zechs groaned, "I guess it’s a start. Good work Sasha, keep it up."
"Yes Sir." Sasha headed back to his office, leaving Zechs with the group. He looked at the papers on them and nodded.
"Is there anybody missing?"
Silence.
"Good. That’s the only attendance I’ll ever call, so I suggest you are all on time for your training. If you’re late, you will be punished. I don’t make empty threats, just ask some of the others around here." He glared across the group, making a few people shiver.
"For now I guess you’ll get the tour and some introductions and then we’ll assign your dorm rooms and training schedules."
~
Jeff Chinambu listened to the tall blonde man talk but he hardly heard anything more than mumbling. Maybe his mother had been correct when she told him he should pay more attention to things.
"Hey, isn’t this a drag? I signed up to blow things apart." Jeff nudged the person standing next to him. The tall Asian teen turned his head slowly, glared at Jeff and then turned back to stare at the front of the room.
"Wow, what a stiff," Jeff snorted. He crossed his arms and tried to pay attention to the blonde man again.
"Now, if you’ll all follow Sasha here, he’ll show you around the base."
The short, fat, balding Russian man who had just came back out of his office stopped and stared at the blonde man.
"But Zechs…" Sasha started.
"Just do what you’re told Sasha, please? I have to deal with our returning pilots."
"Oh yes, those kids." Sasha chuckled. "Good luck…"
Zechs snorted and ignored him as he stalked off. The group started moving behind Sasha. Jeff sighed and rested his hands behind his head. "When do we get to blow stuff up?" He complained to himself.
~~~
"It’s about time." Jeff grinned. He grabbed a coffee from the cafeteria and found a place to sit down. "What a total snore this place is," He said as he looked around. He spotted the rude Asian kid across the room, sipping tea and sitting by himself.
"Tea," Jeff snorted, "What a wimp." He looked towards the door and saw two girls come in. One had dark blue hair, it was almost black and it was pulled back into a loose braid. The other had brown hair in pigtails and glasses. Both were in uniform and were wearing the stars of an officer, as well as wings, signifying that they were pilots.
"I wonder how those two got so high up?" He took a sip of his coffee and watched them. They were a lot nicer to look at than that annoying Asian guy was.
~
Saber Trong sipped his tea quietly, and examined the room around him. There was too much noise. He couldn’t stand the incessant chatter of all the other Preventors in training. All they could talk about was how good they were going to be in the Preventors. He had been listening to one girl flirt and two other guys joke for the last half an hour.
Saber opened his eyes just as two young women walked in, in officer’s uniforms and pilot’s wings.
"Women pilots," he muttered, "And officers too? They don’t look so tough."
He was aware of the boy across the room watching him, and then watching the girls.
‘Pervert,’ He thought, ‘Immature brat’. He looked him over from head to toe. What was wrong with his hair? The hairstyle was completely impractical. He was black, with short, thin dreadlocks hanging all over his head. There was a trace of facial hair he had a goatee. He was wearing a bright, multi-colored surfer shirt that was left open with a white T-shirt underneath and baggy blue jeans. Did he think he was on vacation?
Saber, on the other hand, was completely prepared for war. His jet-black hair was pulled back in a high ponytail and the hair underneath was buzzed short. There were two thick pieces of hair that were loose; but they barely reached his eyes, so it didn’t bother him. His clothes were loose and comfortable and plain. He never enjoyed standing out.
He glanced at the two girls as they chatted and stood in line in the cafeteria. He didn’t bother himself with them though. He would find out who they were soon enough.
~~
"Wow, there are quite a few new recruits, aren’t there Helen?" Indigo said as she looked around the cafeteria.
"Yeah, Zechs told us they were bringing in more Preventors, but he didn’t say they would all be rookies."
"I wonder if he actually thinks he’ll be able to train all the soldiers we’ll need for this next war?"
"Knowing Zechs, he probably will. Between him and Noin, they’re a great team."
"Yeah I guess, but haven’t you noticed that Noin’s been acting kinda weird lately?"
"What do you mean?" Helen wondered.
"Well, I went to talk to her yesterday afternoon and she was taking a nap. And she didn’t wake us up until seven this morning."
"Well…maybe she wanted us to get used to waking up early again. And as for the nap…well, she is getting older."
"I don’t think so, remember the first day we were here and we didn’t even know why yet? She wasn’t taking it easy on us then."
"Indigo, stop acting so suspicious!"
"Hey! What if she’s been having dreams like us?"
"I doubt it, they had nothing to do with her, and have you had any weird dreams since the party?"
"Well…no, but…"
"You see, there’s probably a reasonable explanation for the way Noin’s been acting. Maybe she’s just sick."
"Maybe," Indigo sighed. She looked at the menu on the cafeteria wall and grimaced. "What is this crap they’re serving now?"
"I don’t know, but I’m sticking with a nice, safe slice of pizza and some chai."
"Chai?"
"Tea with steamed milk and spices." Helen explained, "It’s very good."
"Oh, well then maybe I’ll try some too."
"Well, now we have the problem of finding somewhere to sit." Helen sighed.
"Yeah, a bunch of rookies are sitting at our table." Indigo looked at the table near the far end of the cafeteria.
"Yeah…well hey! There’s only three people over there." Helen pointed to a table near the middle. There was a black guy with dreadlocks sitting there by himself, and two girls talking hurriedly to each other.
"I don’t know…I don’t think they’ll want us sitting with them."
"Oh please," Helen rolled her eyes, "They would be honored to have a couple of experienced Preventors there to tell them how to deal with Zechs."
Indigo laughed and gave in and followed Helen to the table.
~
Jeff looked up and almost fell out of his chair when he saw the two girls heading his way. He tried to remain inconspicuous, but the blue-haired girl noticed him and laughed.
"Hi!" The blue-haired girl smiled.
"Hi," Jeff answered. He tried to straighten up and smile, but he had a mouthful of food.
The girl looked at him, and then at her friend and shook her head. Jeff swallowed his food and tried again.
"Name’s Jeff," He announced. The girls looked up at him again and smiled.
"I’m Helen," Said the blue-haired one, "And this is my friend Indigo."
"He, nice to meet ya," Jeff grinned. "Are uh…you two both Preventors then?" He asked, pointing at their uniforms.
"That’s usually what the uniforms mean," Helen snorted.
"Hun? Oh! Ha ha, that’s funny…" He started to trail off, "That’s…really funny."
Helen looked at him strangely. "Are you ok?"
"Not usually, no."
Helen wasn’t sure to make of this at first, but then she threw her head back and laughed. Indigo giggled as well as she stirred her soup.
"Pilots too!" Jeff declared, "That’s cool! Are you good?"
"Hn, I’m the best." Helen answered.
"And you’re not, Indigo?"
"Me? Oh no! I could never compete with Helen. I’m better at hacking and things like that."
"But you’re both pilots. What do you pilot exactly? Space Leos maybe? Or Taurus’?"
"Gundams actually." Indigo said.
"Gundams!" Jeff was thrown off balance again. "You’re telling me you two are Gundam pilots?"
"Keep it down, will ya?" Helen snapped. "I don’t need to be signing autographs right now."
Indigo chuckled. "Come on Helen, most of us here are Preventors. I think they’re a bit more a mature than that."
"You just wait," Helen said, waving her fork. She stopped and looked at the fork. "Why do I even have a fork? I’m eating pizza!"
Indigo and Jeff both laughed.
"Hey girls!" Jason cried suddenly. He bounced over to the table and sat down next to Jeff. "What’s going on here? Our table was taken over by rookies!" Jason sighed. He looked at Jeff and grinned, "Hey, how ya doing?" He didn’t bother to wait for an answer before he started talking again.
"You would not believe the nerve of them! I told them to get lost, and they told me they’d beat me up…"
"They probably could." Helen muttered.
"And so then I threatened them a bit. But they still wouldn’t move…"
"Does anybody else hear that incessant buzzing sound?"
"That’s funny Helen." Jason glared at her.
"Really Jason," Helen sighed, "We’re not interested in your story about how you were overpowered by a bunch of rookies. Why don’t you go share with your fan club?"
"Fan club?"
"Yeah, last time I checked, it consisted of every other female rookie in this cafeteria and at least one scary redhead who’s harder to kill than a damn cockroach."
Jason looked at her for a moment and then laughed. "I knew it! You are jealous of…OW! Helen, what’d you do that for?" He rubbed his shin where he had been kicked.
"Indy!" Helen pretended to look shocked. "You know it’s really rude to kick people under the table."
Indigo rolled her eyes and decided to ignore Helen’s comment.
Jeff laughed at them. "Are you guys always like this?"
The other three teens nodded.
"Man, remind me not to get in your way." He laughed.
"That would be a good idea." Jason told him. "Helen can get pretty scary. Especially if you try and sneak kisses out of her…"
"JASON!"
"Yipes, I’m leaving now, are you happy?"
"Yes,"
"Fine, but before I go, there was a reason I came down here in the first place. What was it again? Oh yes!" He grinned maliciously. "Noin is putting you on rookie training with David tomorrow."
"What!"
"And Indy, Joel was looking for you!" Jason cried before he dashed off. Helen glared at his retreating form, fuming.
"How could Noin do this to me!" Helen screamed at Indigo. "She knows I need to brush up on my skills as much as everyone else!"
"She also knows that you’re the only one who spends every waking hour training." Indigo pointed out. "Besides, you’re a great pilot, you don’t need it as much as the rest of us."
"Well what about the twins or Jason even? They’re good pilots! And what do I know about training rookies? I’d probably get someone killed on the first day!"
"I was thinking more along the lines of running home crying or possibly mortally injured."
"Hey, relax Helen. It won’t be too bad." Jeff said. "You and me can hang out. You know, shoot some hoops or something."
"Basketball nets are in the quad, you can go on your own."
Indigo sighed, "Well, there’s no point in fighting it now. Once Noin has made up her mind, there’s not much you can do to change it."
"I know…" Helen groaned, "I know…"
~~~
"You’re doing what?" Brittney gawked.
"I’m building some new Gundams for you and Seth." Cheryl smiled. "I can’t believe the Preventors are putting so much trust in me. I feel so special."
"They’re actually letting me pilot a Gundam? They really are serious about this new threat."
"They should be, and they don’t even know everything yet. Do you think we should tell them?"
"That’s just a rumor, mom. Besides, do you think they would believe us?"
"I guess you’re right," Cheryl sighed. "We can wait until we can prove it."
"What’s all this noise about?" Seth asked as he came around the corner.
"Hi Seth!" Brittney smiled. "I was just talking to my mom. It seems she’s going to build a couple of new Gundams."
"More Gundams!" Seth choked, "Where are they going to find more pilots? I can’t think f anyone crazy enough to…"
"Actually Seth, they were going to make them for you and me. But if you don’t want to…"
"ME! They’re making a Gundam for me? That is so cool!" Seth cheered. He jumped up into the air.
"We have to share the good news Brit, come on!"
"I don’t know if Noin would…"
"Oh relax…Let’s go find Jazz! She’ll be so happy for me!" Seth grabbed Brittney’s arm and dragged her off down the hallway.
On their way, the two ran into Jason.
"Hey Jason, what’s the rush?" Brittney asked.
"Brittney!" Jason said happily, he looked up, "And Seth…" He groaned. Seth glared at the other boy coldly. Brittney giggled.
"Hey Jason, we were going to find Jasmine, have you seen her?"
"Actually yes, she and Joel are down in the gym." Jason said. "I’ll come with you guys!" He latched onto Brittney’s arm and started to pull her towards the gym. Seth glared at Jason’s retreating form and shoved his hands into his pockets before following them.
~~
"Please Joel, just one more and then I’ll leave you alone, I promise."
"A promise from you isn’t worth anything Jazz." Joel snapped.
"Come on! One more for your sister, please?"
"No!"
"Well, would you do it for your girlfriend?"
Joel thought for a moment, "Not anymore I wouldn’t."
"But you’re not even sweating!"
"I’m not doing anymore laps so forget it!"
Jasmine sighed and put her camera away. "Too bad, I promised Indy I would get some good pictures, but I guess these will have to do."
"It’s not going to work Jasmine."
"I know," She sighed and looked over at David. "Are you still on the phone, Davie?" she called.
David looked up momentarily and waved at her, then crouched back over the phone.
"We all know who you’re talking to David! You can stop hiding it!" Joel yelled at him. He was getting annoyed with the blonde teen.
David looked up again and waved at them to back off.
Jasmine rolled her eyes. "That girl’s got him so whipped."
"I know, pathetic isn’t it?" Joel said as he dried himself off after swimming laps in the pool.
"Well…" Jasmine smirked as she looked him over, "He isn’t the only one…"
"Yeah…" Joel agreed. "Seth’s whipped too."
Jasmine stared at him, but the boy was completely serious. "That’s not who…" she was cut off when the door to the gym slammed open.
"Hey baby!" Seth waved. He ran over to her excitedly and gave her a kiss. Joel’s face darkened but he didn’t say anything. He didn’t want anyone to know that he actually cared who his sister dated.
Jason and Brittney followed him, but they were too deep in conversation to notice anyone.
"Who’s David talking to?" Seth wondered.
"His girlfriend," Jasmine and Joel answered at the same time.
"Hey David!" Seth screamed across the room. "Get off the phone!"
David looked up again from his phone call yet again and sighed.
"Listen Lex, I’m going to have to call you back." He said quickly.
"What’s with all the secrecy David?" Alexis asked, "It’s almost as if you’re embarrassed to let people know you’re talking to me…"
"Don’t be ridiculous!" David cried, "I just don’t want people eavesdropping. But I have to go now, OK? I’ll call you later."
"Alright, love ya Davie."
"Love you too." David said as he hung up. He started to turn but ran right into Jason.
"Aw, isn’t that cute?" Jason laughed. "Davie’s in love!" He grabbed David’s head and ruffled his hair "Hey! Knock it off Jason!" David complained. He freed himself from Jason grip and stalked off.
"What wrong with him?" Jason wondered.
"Who knows," Jasmine sighed, "He’s been acting like that since we got here."
"Oh well," Jason sighed. "That guy is weird anyway."
"Yeah," Jasmine agreed. "Maybe we should help him with that…"
The other teens just looked at her.
"Jasmine…" Joel said cautiously, "As much fun as that sounds, no…"
Jasmine pouted.
"Hey guess what guys!" Seth said suddenly. "Brittney and I are going to pilot some new Gundams!"
The others turned slowly and just stared at him. "What? What did I say?"
~~~
The room went completely silent when the door flung open. The 23 new rookies looked at their new instructors. Jeff, unlike the others, was not intimidated, thinking he had an edge since he knew one of them.
He looked at the blonde guy standing behind Helen. He hoped he wouldn’t be too much of a problem. He already knew Helen wouldn’t be too bad, no matter how her friend joked. But he was about to find out that what Indigo had said was no joke.
Helen glared at the group and then let out a long sigh. She looked at the blonde kid helplessly before picking up her whistle and blowing loudly. The shrill sound got the attention of anyone who wasn’t already staring at the pair.
"What the hell are you guys doing?" She screamed. "Get into ranks!"
The rookies gulped and got into two straight lines. Only Jeff doddled, thinking he could get away with it.
"You! Jeff…Chinambu is it?"
Jeff smiled, "That’s me,"
"What is taking you so long? If I say get into ranks you get into ranks. With that speed it’s a wonder you made it this far. But I’ll tell you something; you won’t make it any further if you keep it up!"
Jeff gulped, "Yes ma’am." He ran to his place and stood. He could feel the Asian guy next to him glaring at him. Jeff did his best to ignore him.
"My name is Helen Maxwell. Behind me is David Winner. We’ll be your instructors for the next two months, whether you like it or not. If you make it through my course, maybe you’ll see Zechs or Noin for more extensive training in mobile suit piloting and combat."
"Why can’t you do it?" A big guy in the back called.
Helen stopped and glared at him.
"What was that?"
"I said, why can’t you teach us how to pilot a mobile suit or fight? Don’t you know how to fight?"
His friends around him laughed.
"Come out here," Helen ordered. The guy shrugged and stood in front of her. He was a lot taller and bigger than she was. Helen didn’t like his cocky attitude.
"What’s you name?"
"Jordan Nathanson, ma’am." He said, with a hint of sarcasm.
"Jordan hun? Do you think you have skills?"
"Helen…" David warned.
"Stay out of this David," Helen hissed back.
"If I didn’t have skills I wouldn’t be here, would I?"
"Do you think you have enough skills to beat me?"
"Well…"
"Answer the question!"
"Yeah, I think I could beat you any day."
"What about him?" she pointed at David.
"Yeah," Jordan said with a shrug.
"Why?"
"Well he doesn’t really have much muscle."
"Really? Do I have muscle?"
"Not really, I mean, you’re a girl."
"Uh oh…" David sighed.
"So, you think you can beat me because I’m a girl and you have more muscle right?"
"Yeah, sure."
"Hm," Helen tapped her chin in thought for a moment. "Well, that’s fair enough. Why don’t you prove it?"
"Hun? Why?"
"I want to see if it’s true."
"But if you lose…"
"If I lose I guess I’ll lose any respect you guys had for me as an instructor, and if I win, I guess you’ve lost any respect you had from your peers."
"OK," He sighed, "I really hate to wound your pride, but if you insist…"
"Oh I do…"
Helen led him over to the mats and stood on the other end from him.
"David, would you mind starting to the clock for us?"
"Sure," David sighed. He reached for the clock and rung the bell to start to fight.
The two lunged for each other, and Jordan swung a powerful punch at Helen’s face. She easily dodged it and spun away. Jordan was sent reeling from the force of his punch. Helen waited for him to regain his balance and he came after her again. This time he was faster. Helen did a few backwards flips to the other end of the mats to dodge him and then spun around and kicked his feet out from under him.
Jordan fell to the ground and Helen waited from him to get up. She still hadn’t even broken a sweat; she wasn’t even breathing hard!
Jordan on the other hand, was panting and bathed in sweat. He tried to grab her this time, but Helen didn’t give him the chance. She jumped up and did a spin in the air, kicking him in the head at least three times. She landed easily and watched him fall to the floor in a big heap. David ran over and checked him out.
"He’s…he’s out cold…" He announced. The rookies were all gawking at Helen, their mouths hanging open.
"Anybody else think they can beat me?"
